Dad charged with murder after 7-year-old finds mom's body

2017-12-01T15:47:13Z2017-12-01T15:47:35Z

(Source: RNN)

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTHThe Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A Kansas City man has been charged with fatally stabbing his wife after the couple's 7-year-old daughter told a school counselor that she had found a body and authorities that she "didn't want to be next," according to investigators.

Benjamin Byers, 45, was charged Thursday with second-degree murder, armed criminal action, abandonment of a corpse and child endangerment in the death of Melissa Byers. Bond is set at $500,000. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.

A police detective wrote in the probable cause statement that the girl talked to a counselor Wednesday, one day after finding "lots of blood" and glimpsing a body in the basement with a "stab on the back." She told a forensic interviewer that the face was covered but that the sweater on the body was her mother's. The girl hadn't seen her mother since school pickup on Monday.

The girl said she was leaving the basement when she received a call from her mother's boyfriend, who said he was coming over. She said her father started acting "suspicious," closing all the blinds and locking the door, according to the probable cause statement, which doesn't say whether the girl's father and mother were estranged or whether her mother still lived in the home.

She didn't tell the boyfriend or father what she had seen in the basement. She told the forensic interviewer her father had been acting "weird" and that she "didn't want to be next," the detective wrote.

After the girl's school contacted police, officers went to the home, where Benjamin Byers said he didn't know his wife's whereabouts, the detective wrote. Officers found blood throughout the house and a large section of carpet that appeared to have been removed from the dining room.

After obtaining a search warrant, Melissa Byers' body was found in the basement covered with carpet, plastic, sheets and clothing. Bloody drag marks were seen on the basement stairs. Police also saw signs that efforts had been made to clean up the dining room, living room, kitchen and bathroom.

Byers declined to talk to detectives after the body was found.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Pennsylvania Judicial Center serves as an administrative headquarters for Pennsylvania’s courts which are administered by the Supreme Court. (Source: Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania)

Court records in a monthslong legal fight over the report say it identifies more than 300 "predator priests" and that grand jurors accuse church leaders of brushing aside victims to protect abusers and church institutions.

Court records in a monthslong legal fight over the report say it identifies more than 300 "predator priests" and that grand jurors accuse church leaders of brushing aside victims to protect abusers and church institutions.

(Scott G Winterton /The Deseret News via AP). The scene of a plane crash is blocked off as Federal Aviation Administration officials investigate the area in Payson, Utah on Monday, Aug. 13, 2018. Authorities say the small plane has crashed into a house...

The president of a Utah company whose small plane was used by a man who died when he flew into his own house after he had been arrested for assaulting his wife says the pilot had full access to the plane because he...More >>

The president of a Utah company whose small plane was used by a man who died when he flew into his own house after he had been arrested for assaulting his wife says the pilot had full access to the plane because he had earned the firm's trust.More >>

Former Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson is campaigning to unseat New Mexico's junior Democratic U.S. senator, seeking political opportunity in the space between Democrats and voters loyal to...More >>

Former Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson is campaigning to unseat New Mexico's junior Democratic U.S. senator, seeking political opportunity in the space between Democrats and voters loyal to President Donald Trump.More >>

The spectacular theft of a 76-seat plane from the Seattle airport by a ground crew employee is prompting an industrywide review of how to thwart such insider security threats, though it remains unclear what steps airlines might take

The spectacular theft of a 76-seat plane from the Seattle airport by a ground crew employee is prompting an industrywide review of how to thwart such insider security threats, though it remains unclear what steps airlines might take

Investigators worked to find out how an airline employee stole an empty Horizon Air turboprop plane, took off from Sea-Tac International Airport and crashed into a small island in the Puget Sound after being chased by military jets

Investigators worked to find out how an airline employee stole an empty Horizon Air turboprop plane, took off from Sea-Tac International Airport and crashed into a small island in the Puget Sound after being chased by military jets

A property owner in the New Mexico town where five adults were arrested on child abuse charges and remains of a boy were found is questioning why the adults' living compound wasn't searched earlier by authorities

A property owner in the New Mexico town where five adults were arrested on child abuse charges and remains of a boy were found is questioning why the adults' living compound wasn't searched earlier by authorities

An intentionally set wildfire grew perilously close to homes in Southern California on Thursday as evacuation orders expanded to more than 20,000 residents, though some homeowners stayed behind to fend off the flames themselves

An intentionally set wildfire grew perilously close to homes in Southern California on Thursday as evacuation orders expanded to more than 20,000 residents, though some homeowners stayed behind to fend off the flames themselves